


with a little help

by joshriku



Category: Kingdom Hearts, Subarashiki Kono Sekai | The World Ends With You
Genre: First Kiss, Fluff and Humor, M/M, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Pining, Slow Burn, for the sake of, ykno when there's smth There but characters just refuse to acknowledge
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-08
Updated: 2020-06-08
Packaged: 2021-03-03 21:27:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,064
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24602362
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/joshriku/pseuds/joshriku
Summary: Because kids always speak the truth, especially about love and relationships. Especially if they are Riku's new students.
Relationships: Kiryu "Joshua" Yoshiya/Riku (Kingdom Hearts)
Comments: 8
Kudos: 22





	with a little help

It’s not that Joshua dislikes children. Quite the opposite—children were more entertaining to talk to than regular, boring adults. They aren’t liars, most of the time, and of course, their clear vision of the world made them formidable little creatures to talk to. _Except_ Riku’s new students, because they were the devil incarnate—and he would know it, he’s the closest thing to Jesus.

“So you just adopted children,” Joshua states, watching the three kids run around Riku. “You got told to take a mission and now you got _children.”_

“You sound like I purposefully requested them,” Riku says, stepping out of the kids to stand next to him. The kids continue running and jumping across the field. “It was an accident.”

“Do enlighten me on how a Keyblade Master ends with three new creatures on his possession?”

“Master Yen Sid summoned me a week ago, and—I’m realizing I need to do some more explaining behind all this. Long story short, Keyblade Masters from past generations had children, and now they’re old enough to summon their Keyblades at will and fight, so, Master Yen Sid is assigning us as their teachers.”

“Who’s this ‘us’?”

“Well, me, Aqua, Terra, Mickey.”

Joshua scrunches up his nose. “Why are they letting the rat take care of children?”

Riku smacks his head, gently. “Stop calling him a rat.”

“I will politely refuse.”

Rolling his eyes, he continues, “Anyway, I’m not a full time babysitter. They stay here with Terra and his friends and I’m just here to change things up a bit.”

“What was this world called? Land of Departure?”

“Yep. It’s pretty, right? I’m sorry I dragged you into this.”

Truly, he’s not mad. Bitter, maybe, that they’re not alone—had Riku invited him to simply hang out in a different world, just the two of them, this would be a lot more pleasant. But those three devils—purposefully tugging at Joshua’s shirt and saying his pants are _ugly_ when _they’re_ dressed pretty horribly—are ruining his mood just a tiny bit. Just a tiny, tiny bit. But as usual, Riku’s apologetic eyes and smile manage to put his bitterness aside.

“It _is_ pretty. You get a pass for choosing a good world.” Joshua looks around the field, all magical and green and genuinely pretty. “I don’t suppose I am any help for you right now, so, I will take my right seat and watch you get to work.”

Riku takes one look at him. “You’ll be watching?”

“Well, do you see anything more entertaining?”

“Your phone?”

“Don’t be ridiculous, Riku. I would never pass up front-row tickets to see you in action.” Joshua smirks, “Don’t tell me you get stage fright.”

“No, not at all. Just… hopefully it’s not _too_ boring.” Riku smiles at him, then turns back to the kids. “Okay. I should start the class now. Hopefully it doesn’t take too long—”

“Stop worrying. Tense isn’t a good look on you.”

“Fine, fine. Thank you. Be right back!”

Joshua sighs, going to take his rightful seat behind them all. It’s a nice weather in this world, truly, anything is nicer than Shibuya weather to him. Riku marches up to the three awful devils, and all of them immediately stop playing once they realize the class have started. Good. Riku’s presence just happens to be like that: you want to pay attention to him as soon as he shows up. It seems like even little demons like those three knew.

“We’re going to touch up on our defense today,” Riku says. “Have you guys learned this yet with Master Aqua or Terra?”

The three gremlins shake their head. “Only magic and offensive,” says the blond one—Nana. Gremlin number one.

“Okay. That’s great. Let’s do some stretches before we start.”

“Do we _have_ to, Master Riku?” asks the one with brown hair—names are hard. Yoon. Was it Yoon? He’s Gremlin number two, that’s who he is. 

“Of course. You guys don’t want to pull any muscles, right? How else are you going to chase around each other?” The kids gasp in unison. “Exactly. Warming up is _always_ important.”

Gremlin number three—the one with red hair—turns to look at Joshua, in an awful turn of events. Is she Prim? Whatever. Gremlin number three it is. Her lips tilt up, mischievous, and raises a finger at him: “Master Riku, he should join us.”

Riku looks scandalized for a second. “No, Prim, he’s our guest.”

“Yes, consider me a judge,” Joshua says, legs crossed, “I am only here to rate you on your performance.”

“Shouldn’t you know what we’re doing to grade us?” asks Yoon, annoying awful creature, and smiles big. “Master Riku, he should be with us. He can be your warm up partner.”

“Please. I don’t _do_ this whole sweating thing,” Joshua waves them off. “Why are you all so interested in me? You have class.”

The kids giggle. Nana adds, “He’s funny.”

“We should focus,” Riku chimes in, gently, and really—being a teacher suits him. Joshua would never have this amount of patience. Kids who are ages twelve and up: much more suitable to talk to. These kids must be _nine_ at best. “Let’s raise our arms first.”

“But I want our guest to participate,” Yoon pouts. Fine. If Yoon ever happens to go to the UG, Joshua will not be so merciful to him. “Master Riku, you always say all of us get to do our best when we have fun. Why not him?”

Oh, Riku. Poor, poor Riku, who looks slightly panicked and lost with his own students. Maybe the nineteen-year-old guy should not be babysitting nine-year olds, but what does Joshua know, really? He throws his hands up, giving up—if he’s going to be in this world without anything else to do, might as well.

“Since I am so acclaimed in the public,” Joshua shrugs, watching Riku’s face break into a huge smile. “I will warn you that I am _not_ going to follow as perfectly as you expect me to.”

“Thank you,” Riku says, happiness buzzing off him as Joshua stands next to him. The three small spawns of Satan smile brightly at Joshua, like they got away with their plan. “Let’s start over again. Remember to always breathe in and out—it can sound annoying, but it’s something you’ll be grateful for later and ultimately will help you in long battles.”

“Master Riku, have you been in long battles?” Gremlin number one asks. Her little arms are raised up over her head. Joshua looks at Riku, curious about his answer.

“Yeah. I’ve gone over a week without sleeping, constantly fighting,” Riku answers casually, like he’s telling a normal fact. “It did help me a lot.”

“You mean that Keyblade War, right?” Joshua asks, just to be sure. Riku changes the direction of the stretches to the right, so he can’t look at him now when he answers.

“I mean, yes, then too. But it’s not the only time I did that.” There’s a pause between them, as they change their stretch to the left. “Did I tell you about Castle Oblivion?”

“No, Master, you didn’t,” says Gremlin number two. Joshua glares at him.

“He’s talking to _me,_ not _you,”_ Joshua replies, but for some reason the kids think that’s hilarious. Children. “I’ve heard some bits.”

“Yes, well, we’re standing on Castle Oblivion right now.”

“Huh?!” The Gremlins look so shocked they stop stretching. Riku luckily changes the direction to down, and Joshua is already growing tired of these exercises, even though it’s only stretching.

“Master Aqua created Castle Oblivion—sort of. She summoned it with her old Master’s keyblade, but once we found her, she changed the castle back to the Land of Departure.”

“Impressive,” says Joshua, finally standing up. The nonsense logic Riku’s worlds followed was incredibly amusing to study. “You could say there’s always more than meets the eye. Are we done stretching? I’m sweating.”

“Master Riku, he seems like he never works out,” Gremlin number three sneers. “He should be here for the rest of the class.”

“And why would I ever do that?” Joshua inquires, and no, he’s not going to pick a fight with a nine-year-old. He takes one look at Riku, who’s chuckling amusedly, and sighs. “I suppose if I can be of any assistance to Master Riku, then I should be. We had a _whooole_ evening planned, but nooo…”

“I said I was sorry!”

“Relax. I’m not actually guilting you. Well, Master Riku? What’s next?”

 _“_ Stop calling me that,” he’s embarrassed now. Cute. “Do you really think that’s it for stretching?”

“We moved our arms _so_ much.”

“His arms are like twigs,” Gremlin number three laughs again. Joshua pretends to not hear it. “He gets tired easily.”

Riku continues like he also didn’t hear her. “We still need to work on the legs. Come on.”

“Ugh, _Rikuuuuuu…”_ Joshua sighs again, imitating their pose. He stretches his right leg out, lowering himself, balancing on his left side. “I hate this.”

The kids snicker at him. 

“What’s so funny?”

“You,” Gremlin number two laughs. “Where are you from?”

“Why do you care?”

Riku pinches him. “Be nice.”

These kids find anything amusing, don’t they? They’re laughing again. 

“My world is called Shibuya.”

“Sheebooya,” Gremlin number one repeats. 

“Just Shibuya,” Joshua corrects. “Can we swap sides now? I’m dying.”

They do, thankfully. When Joshua thinks there’s finally going to be some peace and quiet, Gremlin number three asks, “How do you know Master Riku? Are you his boyfriend?”

Riku makes a noise like he’s been strangled, losing momentarily his balance, and instead of laughing all the students gasp worriedly. He looks embarrassed as he sits up again, even worse when he finds Joshua laughing at him. Because of course Joshua is doing that, who would he be if not? 

“Well, Master Riku?” Joshua smiles devilishly. “Are you my boyfriend?”

“We’re not boyfriends,” Riku hurries to clarify. “Joshua’s my friend. I met him on my Mark of Mastery exam.”

“Mark of Mastery!” Gremlin number two exclaims. It’s hilarious how kids move on from topics so quickly, like they don’t ruin your life for five seconds. “Master Riku, will we get an exam?”

“When you’re of age, yep.”

“How old were you?”

“Six… teen?” Riku tilts his head, standing up. “Yeah, sixteen.”

Gremlin number three looks at Riku. “Wow, Master Riku, you’re really old now.”

“I—I’m nineteen?”

“A hag,” Joshua supplies.

“We’re the same age?”

“But I will always look young and beautiful,” Joshua sweeps his hair back. “It is one of my best qualities. I suppose we are done warming up, so I shall—”

“You’re staying _here,”_ Riku tugs his arm, momentarily making Joshua lose balance, and hands him a wooden sword. “You’re my target practice.”

“Murder on plain sight, with witnesses?” he speaks as Riku grabs his own wooden sword. “My god, Riku, talk about not being discreet. Do you need some lessons on this?”

“What’s murder?” asks Gremlin number two. 

Riku glares at Joshua. “See what you did?”

“My bad, sorry.”

“Don’t half apologize to me. You’re not even sorry!”

“Of course not,” Joshua continues before Riku has another chance, “so what are we doing now?”

“I’m going to use you as an example of what not to do when you fight someone.”

“I’m a _perfectly_ skilled fighter, mind you. Beyond powerful.”

“Joshua, what are your powers?” Gremlin the First asks. 

“I can drop a motorcycle on someone,” Joshua replies. “Also, beams.”

“Cool…” the three kids mutter. 

“This class is chaotic,” Riku shakes his head. “Well, um, get in position, alright? Try hitting me with your sword.”

“Can I use both hands?”

“Whatever you like best.”

It’s only a demonstration, anyway, so Joshua does the obvious and attacks Riku directly: raising the sword, slamming it down. Riku easily blocks it. Of course, the kids are very impressed once more. With an arm, Riku holds his wooden sword, and with the other he points at the blade. “I know this is very small, but I always suggest to use _this_ side of the blade to counterattack. It’s got a stronger side than you’d expect. Okay, hit me on the side now.”

It goes like this for a while, Joshua doing as told and Riku stopping to explain each thing, and his explanations are so simple and concise, it’s almost like he was born to be helping kids like this. It’s interesting, truthfully, analyzing his face and his eyes. He’s looking at the kids like he has so much hope for them, and at the same time, just a bit of regret. 

He files the information away to ask later. 

“Everyone gets it? Think we can start practicing together?”

“Yes!” the kids chant. 

Joshua watches as they play rock-paper-scissors with each other to see which kid got to be paired up with Riku, and the other two pair up with each other. It’s easy to slip to the back again, watching them fall into an almost choreographed rhythm, catching Riku’s smiles at him every now and then. Eventually, they swap partners, continue to improve, until Riku _finally_ announces a five-minute-break. 

“I’ll go get water,” Riku says. “Josh, are you hungry?”

“Starving. I don’t suppose you happen to have cake inside?”

“I will see. Anything other than that?”

“Eh, if there’s no cake, I’ll live. You owe me dinner, Riku.”

“Do I?”

“After us spending all this time here? You need to give me the biggest dinner surprise in the world. In a good food place. You owe me.”

Riku rolls his eyes but doesn’t deny him, which is already perfect. Joshua watches him go, and once he pays attention again to his surroundings, he sees the three little awful creatures lined up in front of him. 

“Yes, hello. What is it?”

Gremlin number two speaks up, “You’re in love with Master Riku.”

“Wow! What a bold accusation! And yet, presented to me without a single piece of evidence. What lead you to this conclusion, hm? Do you even know what love is?”

“’Course we do!” Gremlin number one speaks up. “It’s giving the last cookie to someone ‘cause it makes them smile. You’d give your last cookie to Master Riku—I know it!”

“Mm, not really. I’m not the sharing type.” Joshua smiles, amused, “Anyone else has a stronger theory?”

Gremlin number three raises her fist, determined. “I know! It’s doing stuff you don’t want to. I don’t like cleaning up after myself, but Master Aqua says I should, and I like it when Master Aqua is happy. So I start cleaning. ‘Cause she gets happy if I listen. And you didn’t want to stretch, but you did it ‘cause Master Riku is happy!”

“These interpretations are too vague. Maybe I gave in to the pressure. None of you actually give me concise evidence and proof.”

“Oh, I got it! It’s the fact you’re here!” Gremlin number two grins immensely. “You’re on a date with Master Riku! That’s why you asked for dinner! Ha, you thought you got away with it! That’s what Terra says to Master Aqua when they have a date. He asks her for dinner.”

“Well, look at you, you little devil. You have slightly more proof than others.” Joshua hums. “How interesting!”

“Hey, Josh, lucky you—there _was_ cake.” Riku shows up, completely unaware of them discussing him right now. “Here’s water for everyone.”

“Thank you, Master!”

Joshua takes a bite and sighs happily. “This is _wonderful.”_ He looks up to Riku, handing him the fork with a bit of cake. “You too.”

Riku takes the fork, bites down, and breaks into another smile. “Hey, you’re right. Did Aqua do this? I need to tell her it tastes amazing, later.”

Gremlin number two gasps, in shock. “Joshua said he’s not the sharing type! He’s sharing his food!”

“What are you on about?” Riku laughs, completely unaware once more. “There is a reason Joshua and I eat together. It’s ‘cause we share our food. Right?”

“Very right,” Joshua smirks, almost evil, at the three kids who look like they’ve been awfully backstabbed by Joshua. “Riku, your students are dead-set on slandering my good name. How do you allow this type of behavior here, mm?”

“Master Riku, he’s a _liar!_ He’s just in—” 

“See? Slandering my name, right now. Seriously, Riku, you’re raising some delinquents,” Joshua shakes his head. Riku sighs, amused. “How could you let them do this to me?”

“Uh-huh. I’m sure your pride is so deeply wounded and hurt.”

“But of course. I am a very sensitive person.”

Riku shoves him, making him almost drop his cake, and thus apologies ensue again. It’s hilarious. Riku gets back to teaching after everyone is done with their five minute break, and Joshua looks down at his cake. Sharing, hm? He finishes all of his cake, if only to prove a point. 

“We’re all done here,” Riku smiles. “You’ve all worked hard.”

“Geez, Master Riku, you’re killing us,” Gremlin one drops her body on the floor. “I’m gonna stay here forever. I can’t move.”

“This one has a knack for dramatism. She can level up in my rank of favorites,” Joshua treads over to where Riku is. He’s so funny, there’s not a drop of sweat falling from him, yet his students seem like they ran a marathon. On _defense_ lessons. “So, I believe you owe me dinner.”

“About that…” Riku already looks apologetic, “so… I can’t really leave until Terra, Ven, and Aqua come back. I can’t just leave children unsupervised. I was hoping… you’d want dinner here? Outside? You don’t have to worry about students, they’ll shower, eat and sleep, so—” 

“Riku,” Joshua interrupts. “It’s fine. It’s nice weather out, and to your benefit, I’ve never had a picnic at night.”

Grinning, already in a good mood again, Riku says, “Me neither. Guess there’s a first for everything. Want to join me to make dinner? “

“You’ll let me cook?”

“Of course not!”

“What about taste-test?”

“That depends.”

“On?”

“Whether you annoy me while cooking or not.”

Joshua zips his lips. “I’ll be the quietest I’ve ever been.”

It makes Riku laugh. “Come on, let’s go.”

Tugging at his arm, Joshua follows him through the castle, and he’d love to pay attention to the surroundings—but he’d be lying if he said he wasn’t staring at Riku’s hand closed around his arm. 

Later, it’s almost ideal how the Land of Departure has the best spot to stargaze. One of the many good things about Riku is that he eats a lot, and in turn, makes Joshua join in, too. Truthfully, he can go on a very long amount of time without eating, and sometimes he simply forgets—of course, nowadays, Riku’s reminders-nagging is so insistent; Joshua tries to have one meal a day at best. 

They have _way_ too many sandwiches and too much orange juice, but it’s fine like this. 

“So, who’s your favorite student?” Joshua begins, smirking, “You _definitely_ have one. Mine is Nana.”

“You know their names?” Riku sounds genuinely surprised at that. Joshua doesn’t know whether to be flattered or insulted. “No, I don’t have a favorite one. They’re all good kids doing their best.”

“Boring. Nana clearly has a future as a theater kid, had she not been stuck with unrealistic key weapons.”

Chuckling, Riku continues, “What were you guys talking about when I was gone?”

“None of your business,” Joshua replies. He’d bring up the topic when it’s a better time. “Do you like Prim more? Or is it Yoon? Awfully sexist of you to choose Yoon as your favorite.”

“Again, none of them,” Riku shakes his head. “I just like them. They’re so young, but so full of potential. It… scares me, really.”

“Oh?” It’s that look again. Wonderful timing. “Care to elaborate?”

“Well… I don’t know, they’re so young. I know history doesn’t always repeat itself, and I know most of the threats have passed—teaching these kids is more of a formality at this point. I can’t help but think maybe I’m sending them towards the wrong path… maybe they’d be better off never learning how to use their Keyblade. Safer. I don’t know,” Riku waves his hand around. “It’s a stupid concern. I just—I’m scared, that’s all.”

“No concerns are stupid. Had it not been a concern, you would be using the wrong word, Riku. It happens.” Joshua purses his lips, momentarily aware of how, despite all their similarities, he and Riku had worries that were worlds apart—figuratively and literally. “But aren’t you sending them into a good path? Suppose one of these kids get a little spike on their “darkness”. According to your world logic, it manifests in normal negative emotions, do they not? One of these kids could feel jealous, anger, sadness… and none of them would be scared, because their dear Master Riku uses the darkness too. Kids are receptive. They learn. Sounds like a good path to send them on.”

Riku laughs softly. “Has anyone ever told you you’re wonderful at comforting?”

“You’re slandering my name,” Joshua says, eager to change the route of the conversation. “Anyone can do that.”

“Sure. But I like that you do it.”

Joshua gives him a look. “Anyway, you’re really good at making sandwiches. Wow, the sky is pretty.”

Riku shakes his head, laughing, “You’re impossible. Yeah, the sky is pretty. Did you know each star is a new world?”

“Interesting. Certainly not what I’m used to think of whenever I look at a starry sky.”

“There are still so many worlds out there.” He has a serene kind of happiness on his face. Joshua isn’t really staring up at the sky anymore. “It’s nice to think about it like that. Never running out of places to explore.”

“Is that what you like, then? Exploring? Being free?”

“You could say that.”

“How nice,” There’s only some trace of bitterness on his voice. “I’m always tied to Shibuya. No matter what I do. It used to be hell, that monotony.”

“How about now?”

“It’s not bad. I get to break rules whenever I want,” Joshua smiles. “And as you can see, I can leave it for a little while.”

“We should travel more,” Riku speaks like it’s not a matter of ‘should’, more like they’re already going to make more plans together, without even asking Joshua his input. “All those little whiles adding up to a big one. What do you say?”

He’s ridiculous. He’s staring back at Joshua now, hopeful for an answer, and it really eats him inside that he just _can’t_ bring himself to deny it. He could say no, easy as breathing, but what would he gain from it? What would be the benefits? So Joshua sighs. 

“I find it hard to ever say no to you,” he finally says. “Where would you take me?”

“Disney castle, clearly. Since Mickey is your favorite.”

Joshua frowns at him. “Jerk.”

Riku bursts out laughing. “Come on. You love me.”

“You think too highly of yourself sometimes. Not that that’s bad. Except _it is now.”_

“Pick a side. Hey, want more sandwiches?”

Joshua shrugs. “I could go for more.”

Riku stands up and offers him his hand. Yet again, Joshua is helpless to deny it, so he grasps it and heads inside with him once more. 

* * *

His phone lights up. The name _Riku_ reads on it, buzzing for a videocall, and Sanae is looking at him expectantly. He’s smiling knowingly, expecting Joshua to take the call, and Joshua almost rejects it to prove a point. Almost. He inhales, dejected, and answers the phone. 

“Hello?”

 _“You picked up!”_ Oh my God. Gremlin number three. _“Hi Joshua! Why aren’t you training with us today?”_

“Prim, right? Hello there. Well, I’m sort of busy today. Why are you calling me…?”

There’s a bit of a struggle on the other line. Even Sanae comes to take a peek at the obvious noise coming from the phone, until three little kids are fitting on the phone frame. 

_“Hi,”_ Gremlin number two is way too close to the phone. _“You did pick up! Master Riku told us we couldn’t call you, cuz you’re busy! But you picked up!”_

“How are you guys doing this?”

Gremlin number one finally speaks up. _“He left his phone. He’s on the bathroom right now. We miss you!”_

“I highly doubt that,” Joshua answers, “Isn’t it bad to steal your dearest Master Riku’s phone?”

_“It is?”_

“Yes, an incredible offense,” he fake-gasps. “My, I cannot imagine the look of betrayal in Master Riku’s face when he finds out about this.”

The kids pale. Silly little gremlins. 

_“W-we just wanted to say Master Riku misses you,”_ Gremlin the second says hurriedly, like Riku is about to show up in any second. _“The other day Master Aqua got some flowers from Terra. You too! Do that!”_

“And why would I ever?” 

_“Cause you and Master Riku are dating! Duh!”_ Gremlin number three exclaims. _“Oh, Master Riku!”_

_“W—what is going on here?”_

Riku himself shows up at last, and the abrupt change of angles from the floor all the way up to Riku is slightly hilarious. _“Hi. Sorry about this. Did they interrupt anything?”_

“Nah, they’re fine,” Joshua says, because really, all he and Sanae were discussing was important Shibuya business. Not really overly-essential. “However, I once again stand by the fact you are raising delinquents. They stole your phone! Consider me amazed.”

 _“Apparently it was stupid of me to think my phone would be okay by itself,”_ Riku smiles at him, and it’s hard to not match him. _“Sorry again! I’ll be more careful next time.”_

“Come on, Riku, you’re fine. What can I say? I’m a sensation with kids. Can’t blame them—if I met myself, I too would have a hard time letting go.”

_“Does it hurt you to be so full of yourself?”_

“Nope. I’m managing excellently. I daresay it’s one of my finest qualities.” 

_“I have to go back to teaching.”_

“I see you’re too weak to handle my self-love. Fine, go away. Have fun.”

_“I’ll call you later if you’re free?”_

“Sure. I’ll call first. Have fun.”

Riku smiles and hangs up. Putting down his phone, Sanae is smiling at him in _that_ way. “So, you and _Master Riku?”_

“He is a Keyblade Master, yes, as funny as that title sounds. He’s respected enough to have students.”

“You like dating teachers?” Chuckling, he continues, “Was that true?”

“I don’t know, really. What is it that they said about kids? They never lie?” Joshua shrugs. “Their words are sure meant to be interpreted somehow.”

“I know you well enough to know when you’re saying no.”

“Good. I’m glad.” Joshua takes another look at his phone, like it might light up again with another Riku notification. “I believe we were in the middle of discussing Game mechanics?”

“You know you shouldn’t run away from this, right? I’m sure you do.” It’s weird, when Sanae gets overly serious. It’s like he ages more than his features says. Joshua doesn’t like it very much. 

“…I know,” Joshua admits. “It’s fun, though.”

“Running away?”

“Maybe.” He smirks. “I like being chased.”

“You wouldn’t want that kid to give up though, would you?”

“No, I don’t think he will.” It’s odd to speak with so much certainty. “He’s strong-willed. Stubborn as they come… and, of course, I don’t do too much running. Don’t you know I hate exercise? I am always within arm’s reach.”

When Sanae smiles again, the extra years fade away, and Joshua’s mind goes a little more at peace. “Sometimes it really feels like you’ve grown and learned.”

“So, the Game,” Joshua continues. “I was thinking about making some slight edits to our grading system, upgrade it to something that fits more to our current years, but I had to run it by you first, clearly…”

“I take my comment back,” Sanae scratches his head. “Josh, you really like ruining good moments.”

“I hate getting sappy,” Joshua smiles at him. “Shall we focus on the topic at hand?”

“Sure thing, boss.”

  
  
  
  
  


_“… Just how many creams do you actually have?”_

“You act like you’ve never seen me do this when you stay over,” Joshua continues applying moisturizer to his face. “Or are you too focused on my show-stopping beautiful face to pay attention to my routine?”

 _“You suit the hairband,”_ Riku points out, unhelpful, avoiding his question yet somehow answering it. _“It’s fun to see your hair pushed back.”_

“Well, consider yourself privileged. I don’t show this to anyone else.” Joshua stops patting his face. “Mm. Maybe Mr. H has walked in on me doing this once.”

_“And what did he say?”_

“He mostly accused me for lying about my skin being naturally soft. Of course it isn’t naturally soft—do you see the amount of _effort_ I put on this?”

 _“A huge amount.”_ It’s almost… weirdly domestic, that Riku is just reading a book on call while taking a few glimpses at Joshua, and Joshua is doing his skincare routine. It’s weird. Whenever they’re together, Joshua feels like they can just be themselves—no complicated plots carrying them along. _“You’d enjoy this book, I think.”_

“Mm? What is it about?”

_“Just poems. Kind of like the one you recommended me before? I got this from the old Radiant Garden library, thanks to Aerith. She said I might resonate with it.”_

“And do you?”

 _“Yeah. A lot of it speaks to me.”_ He looks up from his book, and even with the pixels and not being in real life, Joshua can gather his emotions easily – his fondness is palpable through the screen. _“I don’t want to spoil it to you, though, I want you to read it.”_

“Consider me interested,” Joshua removes the hairband, briefly stopping to remember Riku’s words about him looking nice with it on. He quickly grabs the brush and gets to his hair. “I’m glad it turns out we have some shared love for literature. Should I prepare a book for when you come?”

_“Sure. Speaking of… are you free this weekend?”_

Joshua sighs, long and dreadful. “I’m afraid not. I’ve put off writing so many reports, I have way too many to write now and then pass to Mr. H, for our dearest higher ups. So that’s my weekend summed up.”

_“Aw, that sucks. I wanted to visit. It’s been a while.”_

“Been two weeks at best.” But he agrees. “You could come over—I just can’t hang out or do too many activities.” 

And why is he offering, then? So much of the appeal of Riku’s visits are the fact that Joshua always has something to do or to offer. Something to show him around. Yet, Riku visibly perks up, smiling. 

_“That’s okay. I want to see you, that’s all.”_

“I’m very disappointed of your low standards. You should at least aspire to do something when you come over.”

_“Isn’t it enough to just hang out?”_

“I mean, sure. I am saying, you as a human being are allowed to have high expectations of our meet-ups and be upset if things don’t turn out as expected.”

_“Okay. I see your point. Mine still stands.”_

Joshua stops brushing his hair, analyzing him. Finally, he says, “You’re not one to back down from arguments, hm?” 

_“I’m just a little competitive sometimes,”_ Riku grins at him, good-heartedly. _“So that’s settled. I’ll pass by this weekend.”_

“You aren’t ignoring your responsibilities as a teacher to come hang out with me, are you?”

 _“No, remember, I only teach sometimes. It’s Aqua and Terra’s turn,”_ lighting up with a bit of mischief, Riku asks, _“Why did the kids call you? They didn’t want to tell me.”_

“Nothing big. They missed me,” pausing, Joshua absorbs what he just said, filled with uncertainty. Since when did he become someone that can be missed? “They’re a funny bunch, those kids. I hope they didn’t get scolded for stealing your phone.”

 _“Nah, I would never. They already looked like they saw a ghost and even apologized!”_ Riku smiles, _“You should train with us more often.”_

“You’re asking me, of all people, to physically do _more_ than I’m legally allowed to?”

_“What’s your legal allowance, huh?”_

“Good thing you asked. Twenty minutes every four months. I regret to announce I am only available in another four months.”

Riku laughs, somehow still amused by everything Joshua says. How does he focus on the book when he’s talking to Joshua? He understands it when they’re just quietly doing their own thing — sometimes to the point where even Joshua wonders why would Riku want to call him only to watch in silence his _skincare routine_ of all things — but right now?

“Hang on a second,” he puts down his brush. “Do you even understand your book right now? You keep talking to me.”

_“Oops.”_

“Knew it.”

_“It’s your fault.”_

“How is that my fault?!”

 _“You’re distracting! I like your voice, so,”_ Riku blurts out, and Joshua stares at him visibly processing his words and widening his eyes. It’s such a funny thing to admit accidentally, Joshua finds himself too amused to fixate on that for too long. _“I, um. I’m sorry about that.”_

“What for, mm? It only proves you have exquisite taste.”

_“I’m embarrassed.”_

“It sounds like a personal issue. I’m not embarrassed. In fact, sing me your praises, flatter me more!”

 _“I think you’re the worst, actually,”_ he says between laughs, not meaning it in the slightest. A yawn interrupts him, and he actually looks upset at the fact he’s tired. What a very Riku thing to do. _“I’m not tired.”_

“Could’ve fooled me. Go to sleep.”

Sighing, Riku puts down his book. _“Fine.”_

“Oh—not putting on a fight for this?”

 _“Nah. Doesn’t sleeping more mean more energy for when I see you?”_ Riku grins at him. _“Good night, Joshua.”_

He’s actually speechless for a second. He always just had to communicate his feelings so gently, didn’t he? 

“Good night, Riku.”

Once the call disconnect, his brain supplies him with cheerful voices telling him to buy flowers. Flowers, hm? It wouldn’t be the end of the world. 

  
  


Hilariously enough, when Friday night comes and Riku shows up with a bouquet of flowers, looking all types of shy _and_ excited, Joshua wants to bash his head against a wall. 

“I overheard you and the students talking, actually,” Riku grins, unashamedly. “Sorry about that.” 

Joshua steps aside to let him in, sighing. “Seriously, Riku, you ruined my plans.” 

He gestures at the counter with the bouquet of flowers he had bought himself, and Riku looks at it before breaking into laughter. “You too?” 

“I’ll say the kids had the right idea.” He picks up the flowers and hands it over to Riku. “Well, this is yours.” 

Exchanging their flowers at the same time, there’s a little voice at the back of his head that tells him they should address this now that they can. There’s never going to be a better moment than this—painting a picture clear as day that puts them both in the same page. The implications are right on their faces. And yet, Joshua dismisses the thought, smiling up at Riku. 

“What do you think about them?”

“Pretty,” Sniffing, Riku looks delighted. “I’m going to keep them in my room.”

“As I’d expect you to,” Joshua retorts, and it’s hard to stare at Riku now. It’s like he should be doing something else, anything: hold his hand, drag him down for a kiss, surprise tackle-hug. “I wasn’t lying about being busy, though, I have _way_ too many reports to write.”

“Is it confidential Composer stuff?”

That gets a chuckle out of Joshua. “Yes, you could say that. I put it off so long I have a deadline now.”

“It’s funny to think about _you_ having to deliver deadlines to someone else.”

“Well, we all respond to someone, whether we want it or not,” Joshua shrugs. “I will be upstairs. If you did want to hang out, don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

“Eh, I’ll be fine. It’s late anyway, I’ll probably fall asleep. We have the rest of the weekend, don’t we?” Riku squeezes his shoulder. “Have fun, Mr. Composer.”

“Don’t call me that.”

“Why? Does that offend You, Sir?”

Joshua frowns at him. “You’re not funny.”

“Oh, I apologize, I am not worthy of Your corrections…”

“I’m not listening,” Joshua moves toward the stairs, going up, effectively tuning Riku out. “I don’t have ears.”

“I will see You later, Composer, Sir,” Riku raises his voice so Joshua will make sure he listens.

Joshua doesn’t smile at that. He doesn’t. He _doesn’t._

Without going into too much detail, the worst part about reports is that he has to handwrite them. What was the deal with the higher-ups, anyway? Why did they appreciate written reports so much? It was probably Sanae’s fault for starting that awful trend of reporting things back to them, but alas, they _are_ above Joshua. No amount of Composerhood can save him now. Maybe, if just to fuck with them, he’ll write _‘why can’t we submit these via e-mail?’_ No matter what he does, the higher-ups find him amusing. It’s a funny immunity to have.

Joshua turns around the second he hears the doorknob twisting, tilting his head in confusion when Riku walks in… holding a plate of food.

“What is this?” Joshua asks, “You said you were going to sleep.”

“I lied,” Riku smiles at him. “Surely you can take a break from writing to eat some ramen, right?”

It’s hard to pinpoint why this is making Joshua baffled. He wants to find the right words to respond, but he settles for grabbing the plate and putting his reports aside. It smells deliciously, and somehow, he can’t even say that. It’s not the first time Riku has cooked for him, and there’s a pain gnawing at his chest that says it won’t be the last, and yet… 

“Did you eat already?” Joshua questions, still staring at the plate of food strangely—was it because it was such a caring action? Is that what has left him flabbergasted? “We can share.”

“Oh, don’t worry, I ate before coming here. This is for you.”

“Riku…” He dies to say something snarky, but it doesn’t feel like the right time. He swallows his pride and his instincts, and says, “Thank you.”

Riku actually looks away, shyness swallowing him whole. This is why they can’t have heartfelt moments—Riku gets shy about halfway through. 

“Well, don’t just stand there,” Joshua gestures to the room. “Sit on my bed or something.”

He doesn’t sit; he just plops down like it’s his own bed. Riku likes the guest room, but if they were to be honest, Joshua would let him sleep on his bed. Not like Joshua sleeps a whole lot to begin with. He takes a bite — after he processes the fact Riku cooked for _him_ exclusively — and it’s really like Heaven on Earth. Not exaggerating.

After loudly humming in pleasure, causing Riku to laugh, Joshua says: “Just quit your life as a Keyblade wielder. Become a chef. Screw the worlds, Riku.”

“Maybe as a side-job,” Riku laughs again. “Maybe I’ll overthrow Remy’s Bistro.”

Joshua avoids thinking too deeply about Riku fighting the rat from Ratatouille and instead says, “Yes, I support that idea. But also, I only want you to cook for me only, so this is truly a dilemma.”

“Selfish much?”

“Extremely so. You should be more selfish, really.”

“Mm.” Riku sits up again as he continues to eat. “Are you tired of writing yet?”

“Not really. Despite my unwillingness to ever do them on time, and how much I complain about having to _write,_ actually doing it is not bad. Writing is always therapeutic, especially with pen and paper. However, I have already requested to move the reports to e-mail format, so don’t take my words too seriously.”

“Noted. Can I ask what you write about? Or are your higher-ups watching and controlling your every move?”

“…I’ve shown you too many horror movies. It’s just written reports of Game weeks, rating everyone’s performances, observations, small profiles on Reapers, if anyone caught my eye, etc.”

“You must have incredible memory to write all of that down in one day.”

Joshua shrugs, then continues to slurp his ramen. This is too good. “I never thought about that.”

There’s no need to turn to Riku to know he’s smiling. “Well, now you know. You’re really incredible.”

“Careful, Riku. You don’t want me to drop this hot broth on you.”

“Oh, sorry, Composer, Sir.”

It’s not that Joshua has a short fuse, Riku just knows what buttons to press. (He _does_ have a short fuse.)

“I’ll shoot you, you’ll see,” Joshua threatens with no heat. Riku is already laughing at him, that’s how useless his threat is. “And then I won’t be so merciful in the UG.”

“I think you’d play favorites with me and resurrect me.”

“And how do you know that?”

“You gave me flowers.”

So they are going to address the flowers situation. “You gave me flowers, too.”

“I’m not the one denying to play favorites,” Riku remarks.

How true that might be. Joshua finishes eating, setting his plate aside, and turning to look at Riku. It could be that his eyes are Joshua’s favorite things to stare at, all glinting and shining according to his mood. Riku knows where this is going, and there’s a tentative fear in his eyes—overruled by his confidence. Confidence was a good look on him.

“Well, what are you going to do about it?” Joshua teases, “Make me confess?”

“You don’t have to. You’re already admitting to it.”

“I didn’t do that.”

“Then why would I have to make you confess, if you didn’t have anything to say?” This guy must’ve been hell of a smug one growing up. No one summons this attitude out of nowhere. “I got you.”

He giggles. “Cat’s out of the bag, mm? And now what?”

“I don’t know. I’m satisfied with this.”

Joshua isn’t. Ending it here feels too… empty. Riku build it up so much for it to just fall flat like this? For him to only be satisfied with not an explicit verbal admission? God, it’s expected of him to be happy with the small things.

“We should kiss,” Joshua proposes instead, smirking. “Come on, Riku. All of this for us to not kiss?”

Riku blushes immediately, averting his eyes. “I… uh… well…”

“Well?”

“I… after you finish writing your reports,” Riku offers instead. “It’ll be like a prize.”

“You have _got_ to be kidding me.”

“And I do have to sleep,” he smiles, standing up, but still flushed. Is he running away from Joshua? He can be so cute sometimes. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“This is the most unsatisfying turn of events,” Joshua sighs, closing his eyes and stretching. “You’re the worst.”

Quietly, so quiet Joshua wouldn’t even notice, Riku leans down and presses a kiss to his cheek. Joshua’s eyes widen immediately, but too late—Riku is pulling away, standing up straight, face so red he might as well be a tomato. “Consider it, um, motivation. I’ll see you tomorrow, Josh.”

Joshua brings his hand to the kissed spot, unable to hide his surprise under any gesture or snide remark. Riku, ever so polite, grabs the plate before stepping out of his room again.

Like Joshua is ever going to focus on these stupid reports now!

It’s only around three hours later that Joshua almost throws his papers out of his desk. They’re _done._ Now, it’s not like he’s desperate or anything, but he _was_ promised a kiss, and his brain has been rotting with the feeling of Riku’s lips pressed against his cheek. Like some high school student with their first love.

He makes his way to the guest room, and by the noise coming out of the bedroom, it’s clear Riku isn’t sleeping. It’s his own damn place, and yet, there’s a second of hesitation before Joshua twists the doorknob and steps in. Riku is just sitting, resting against the headboard, under a blanket. Some animated movie is playing, but Joshua doesn’t care much.

Riku smiles at him. “You’re done?”

“So it seems.” He smiles. “I was promised something, I believe.”

He pats the spot next to him on the bed. “Come here. This movie is about dragons.”

“Seriously?”

“I wouldn’t lie about dragons.”

Joshua climbs on the bed anyway, only now noticing Riku made himself popcorn. It’s almost funny, how he used to be so shy to ask Joshua if he could stay over, and now he’s basically the owner of this place. Joshua sighs. “I’ve watched this before.”

“Well, you’re going to re-watch it. Nothing you can do about it.”

“You’re the worst, Riku.”

“Aren’t you the one who came here just to beg for a kiss?”

“… Good point.” Sighing again, he continues, “At least make yourself useful and let me be on your shoulder.”

Riku laughs. “You can rest there whenever you want.”

“Excellent. I earned at least this. Consolation prize.”

He rests against Riku’s shoulder, which is absolutely ten times better than any pillow he’s ever been on. He’s always known Riku is warm, but he’s not even being _hugged,_ and he already feels ten times warmer than usual. Was it a magic spell or a Keyblade wielder thing? Maybe it’s a Riku thing. Damn it, he really wants a kiss.

The stupid movie about dragons plays for five minutes more before Riku breaks into a fit of giggles. “Okay, so, I can’t do this. I thought I’d be able to keep it up for longer, but I can’t. I like you, Josh. I like you a lot. I’m going to kiss you. Please close your eyes.”

Chuckling, all Joshua can think is: _Finally._ Good things really did come to those who wait. 

As much as he was waiting for it, it’s an out of body experience to have Riku’s hand cradling his face and leaning in to connect their lips. It _is_ a Riku thing to be so warm—it’s contagious, so much that even Joshua feels it. One kiss turns into two, into three, until Joshua stops counting and decides to enjoy it more. He barely has time to register how simply soft Riku’s lips are before he finally pulls away, resting his forehead against Joshua’s. 

“I can’t believe we did that.”

“I can’t believe _you_ held _that_ away from me until I finished my reports,” Joshua tries to lighten himself up—it’s honestly unfair how affected he is by _kissing._ Freaking Riku. “We could’ve been doing this for hours.”

The kiss Riku gives him again would’ve stolen the breath out of him, if he had any. “I’m sorry. I really like you.”

“So I heard.” Joshua desperately needs a five minute break to pull himself together. His brain _will_ explode. “No need to apologize, especially when I’m guilty of the same thing.”

Riku smiles at him, and Joshua watches as he turns off the TV and lies down. “I actually _do_ need to sleep.”

Without thinking, Joshua’s hand lands on his hair, fingers threading carefully through his hair. “Good night.”

“Not going to sleep?”

“Can’t force myself to do it today.”

“Mm. I understand.” Snuggling closer, Riku throws his hand over his lap, a very half-assed hug. “Good night.”

“Good night, Riku.”

Closing his eyes blissfully, Riku falls asleep shortly after, and Joshua realizes his hands are still on his hair. His brain echoes his last conversation with Sanae—when Joshua said he was always within arm’s reach, he didn’t mean it _literally,_ but here he is: wrapped still around Riku. 

This chase was amusing, but this? 

This is the best possible conclusion to it. 

(The very next day, over breakfast, while trying to assimilate the fact they can _kiss_ and _hug_ whenever, Riku hands him the book he was reading on call. 

Briefly, Joshua opens it to look at its insides, and finds some pages with bookmarks. Curious, he goes to the first one and finds a love poem staring back at him. 

“I marked the ones that made me think of you,” Riku explains, sheepishly. “I hope you like them.”

Joshua has no choice but to kiss him silly.) 

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> this fic was v fun to write! i get so carried away just writing them talk to each other because they're just such a good match. monthly joshriku.. thanks for reading if you did :)


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